The Carolina Hurricanes (50-19-9) play the 2nd of a 3-game road trip against the Buffalo Sabres (38-32-7) Saturday. Puck drop from KeyBank Center is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Hurricanes vs. Sabres odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Hurricanes opened their road trip by laying an egg in a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators Thursday. Carolina leads the Metropolitan Division with 109 points and is just 1 point clear of the second-place New Jersey Devils but has a game in hand.
The Sabres suffered a damaging 2-1 loss on the road against the Florida Panthers Tuesday but picked up 2 important points with a 7-6 victory at the Detroit Red Wings Thursday.
While Buffalo is not mathematically eliminated from the postseason chase just yet, it trails Florida and the New York Islanders by 6 points for the final Eastern Conference Wild Card. The Panthers and Isles have 3 games remaining and the Sabres only have 5 left so the wiggle room is quickly disappearing for Buffalo to sneak into the playoffs.
This is the 3rd and final regular-season meeting between these teams. Carolina won 5-3 at home against the Sabres as the Over (6.5) cashed on Nov. 4 and won 5-1 in Buffalo with an Under (6.5) result on Feb. 1.
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Hurricanes at Sabres odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:40 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Hurricanes -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Sabres +135 (bet $100 to win $135)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Hurricanes -1.5 (+145) | Sabres +1.5 (-175)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
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Hurricanes at Sabres projected goalies
Antti Raanta (18-2-3, 2.20 GAA, .911 SV%, 4 SO) vs. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (17-11-4, 3.61 GAA, .891 SV%)
Raanta has been on fire lately, winning both of his April starts, including a 14-save shutout on the road against the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday. He hasn’t lost in regulation in 18 starts and 1 relief appearance dating back to Nov. 12 in Colorado, going 15-0-2 along that span.
The Finnish netminder was in net for both victories against Buffalo this season, going 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .927 SV%.
Luukkonen allowed 3 goals on 42 shots in a 6-3 road win against the Philadelphia Flyers last Saturday. The 24-year-old — also from Finland — has won back-to-back starts for the 1st time since a 3-game win streak from Jan. 19-24.
UPL lost his only start against the Canes back on Feb. 1, coughing up 4 goals on 33 shots.
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Hurricanes at Sabres picks and predictions
Prediction
Hurricanes 3, Sabres 2
Moneyline
The HURRICANES (-160) are decent favorites on the road as they look to bounce back after getting blanked in the Music City Thursday.
While Carolina has dropped 2 of the past 3 on the road while averaging just 1.7 goals per game, it faces a Sabres team that has 1 foot in the grave in terms of playoff possibilities.
Puck line/Against the spread
The Sabres +1.5 (-175) are a little on the expensive side in what should be a tight game.
Buffalo has won just twice in the past 8 games at KeyBank Center and is 1-5 in its last 6 games when playing on a single day of rest. It’s also just 1-6 in the past 7 games at home against Carolina and has won just 7 of the previous 27 meetings with the Canes overall.
PASS.
Over/Under
UNDER 6.5 (+100) is a decent play at even money.
The Hurricanes have cashed the Under in 6 games in a row overall and their last 4 on the road. The Under has cashed in 5 straight for Carolina against Eastern Conference teams, too.
The Under cashed for Buffalo last time out in Florida, and the total has gone low at a 3-2-1 clip in the past 6 games overall.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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